Rob gang ‘financier’ nabbed

MANILA, Philippines - A woman accused of being the “financier” of a robbery gang operating in Mandaluyong City and nearby areas was arrested in Manila yesterday.

Rosario Domingo, 48, was apprehended at her house in Sta. Ana, Manila at around 5 a.m. Unidentified persons shot at more than 35 police officers who took her into custody.

“We were fired upon four times while we were leaving the area and luckily nobody among us was hit. We did not bother to fire back for fear of hitting innocent civilians,” said Inspector Herculano Mago, chief investigator of the Mandaluyong City police.

According to Mago, Domingo pointed to her partner, Bernardo Mallari, alias Guding, as the “godfather” of a gang of motorcycle-riding robbers operating in Mandaluyong City and neighboring areas.

Mago said Mallari apparently sneaked out of his residence after sensing the presence of lawmen.

Mandaluyong police chief Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon ordered a manhunt for Mallari.

Return on investment

Masigon ordered a case buildup against Mallari and Domingo after four robbers they arrested in Mandaluyong City on Dec. 5, 2013 pointed to them as the “buyers” of their stolen goods.

According to the arrested robbers, Mallari and Domingo would provide them with motorcycles and handguns, and even supply them with “shabu” before a job.

All their loot – handbags, cell phones and jewelry – would be brought before Mallari and Domingo, who bought them at a relatively low price, the robbers said.

“The imported bags of women must be brought unopened before Mallari and Domingo. An iPhone 5 cell phone fetched only P8,000 to P15,000, which the couple would sell for a higher price,” Mago said in an interview.

In the latest heist, they took the jewelry of a Singaporean worth P500,000 and the couple gave them only P50,000 as their share of the loot, Mago said.

Based on the testimonies of the arrested robbers, Mallari and Domingo have several motorcycles, a .45 caliber pistol, two .38 caliber revolvers, a .22 caliber pistol, a shotgun, and a hand grenade.

Fortress?

Armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Monique Quisumbing of the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 209, Mago and his men, armed with bolt cutters and acetylene tanks, stormed the three-story house of Mallari and Domingo in Sta. Ana.

Mago said visitors would pass through the two iron doors before entering Mallari’s house, which he described was built like a “fortress.”

“We destroyed the two iron doors by using bolt cutters and acetylene tanks for us to gain entry and serve the search warrant,” he said.

During the search, the raiders recovered a Yamaha Mio motorcycle, two .38 caliber revolvers, bullets for a .45 caliber pistol, a hand grenade and sachets of shabu.

Mago said Mallari’s house has several rooms in which he reportedly kept several women as partners.

“Mallari is considered a Robin Hood in his neighborhood. His neighbors depend on him when they need money for medical expenses,” Mago said.

A large number of his neighbors are also his relatives, he added.

Domingo is being held at the Mandaluyong police detention center.